Essay on Toni Morrisons Beloved - Freedom and Independence

Freedom and Independence in Beloved Toni Morrison’s important novel Beloved is a forceful picture of the black American experience. By exploring the impact slavery had on the community, Beloved evolves around issues of race, gender, and the supernatural. By revealing the story of slavery and its components, Morrison declares the importance of independence as best depicted by Sixo. The combination of an individual amongst a community sets forth the central theme of moving from slavery to freedom and reconnecting with family and community. Sixo is one of the nine slaves living on Sweet Home, a Kentucky plantation. A young man in his twenties, Morrison introduces him as â€Å"the wild man† (11) without explanation. Later, Paul†¦show more content†¦The communal was the only memory of Sweet Home openly discussed by the characters of the story. It was their only asset. To Sixo, his community was handed to him along with the chains tearing the flesh of his ankles. Sixo seeks for individualism, a life in which he can create his own circumstances and outcomes. Morrison uses Sixo as an escape from the constant depression and oppression located amongst the text of Beloved. The Thirty-Mile Woman is a symbol of Sixo’s independence. He is a black man who is not afraid to fight back. As such, he poses a serious threat to the institution of slavery. For years, slavery was based on the constant oppression of blacks; Sixo exerts himself as an individual among an oppressed community and threatens the fou ndation in which slavery has thrived upon. Despite the fact that slavery denies the slave the right of personal relationships, he â€Å"walked for seventeen hours, sat down for one, turned around and walked for seventeen more,† (21) to forge a relationship with a woman and perpetuate his liberty. Sixo embodies Beloved’s search for a better life and true freedom as experienced by other characters. Amy’s search for velvet, Paul’s search for himself, and Sethe’s effort to release the past are metaphors for a free future. Even when the Sweet Home slaves are caught escaping, Sixo â€Å"pushes the Thirty-Mile Woman† and runs â€Å"the other way† (225) to protect his future, his independence, andShow MoreRelated Toni Morrisons Beloved: Not a Story to be Passed On Essay example5432 Words   |  22 PagesToni Morrisons Beloved: Not a Story to be Passed On Beloved, Toni Morrisons Nobel Prize winning novel, is a masterfully written book in which the characters must deal with a past that perpetually haunts them.   This haunting, in the form of a twenty year old ghost named Beloved, not only stalks them in the spirit, but also in the flesh.   Beloved, both in story and in character hides the truth in simple ways and convinces those involved that the past never leaves, it only becomes part of who